Detergent composition containing a fluorinated solvent for dry cleaning

ABSTRACT

A detergent composition for dry cleaning is disclosed. The detergent composition for dry cleaning includes a) 5 to 10% by weight of a fluorinated (fluoro-based) solvent, b) 1 to 2% by weight of a cleaning booster, c) 5 to 10% by weight of an anti-shrinkage agent, d) 40 to 50% by weight of a water-soluble solvent, and e) 30 to 40% by weight of water.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This application is a U.S. National Stage Application under 35 U.S.C. §371 of PCT Application No. PCT/KR2018/000384, filed Jan. 9, 2018, whichclaims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2017-0003000, filedJan. 9, 2017, whose entire disclosures are hereby incorporated byreference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a detergent composition for drycleaning, and more particularly to a detergent composition for drycleaning to implement dry cleaning.

BACKGROUND ART

Dry cleaning, which is also called “dry washing”, is a cleaning(washing) method using an organic solvent instead of water and is thuswidely used for wool or silk products wherein the shape and dye offabrics are easily damaged.

In accordance with the dry cleaning method, in the case of fabrics (forexample, natural protein fabrics such as wool or silk fabrics andartificial silk or acetate fabrics) wherein the gloss of fabrics is lostdue to deformation on the surface and the inside of fabrics, or undergodeformation, such as shrinkage or extension because of alkali washingconditions, long-term contact with water, and the physical force of awashing machine strongly driven for a long period of time, oilycontaminants are removed by dissolution in petroleum, chlorine, glycolester, cyclic silicone or silicone, fluorine and terpene oil-basedsolvents such as limonene, and these solvents are removed from theclothes by physical methods, followed by drying to volatilize thesolvent.

Perchloroethylene (PERC), trichlorethylene and the like, which arechlorine-based solvents most commonly used for dry cleaning, haveadvantages of not causing damage to fabrics and being nonflammable.However, these solvents have problems of causing air pollution, beingnon-biodegradable and being carcinogenic particularly to humans.

Recently, as C5-C13 petroleum-based solvents, hydrocarbons including acombination of linear, branched and cyclic hydrocarbons or the like,have been used, instead of chlorinated solvents. However, thesehydrocarbon solvents have risks of fire and explosion, and problems ofcausing environmental pollution (VOC causing formation of ozone) andmicrobial contamination in the solvent. Another typicalhydrocarbon-based dry cleaning solvent, Stoddard solvent, has been foundto have inhalation carcinogenicity.

In order to solve the problems described above, Korean Patent No.KR10-1128856 discloses a solvent represented by the following formula.

However, when the compound represented by the above formula is subjectedto hot-air drying, strong acetone smell may be emitted due todecomposition of the compound. When the water is used in an amount of20% or less, there are problems in that the wrinkle performance is notimproved in the clothes for dry cleaning and removal of aqueouscontaminants is difficult. In addition, this may affect plasticstability, thus causing problems including peeling off of coatings ordeterioration in gloss.

DISCLOSURE Technical Problem

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the aboveproblems, and it is one object of the present invention to provide a(detergent) composition for dry cleaning that exhibits excellentaffinity to water and has an excellent effect of removing oily andaqueous contaminants.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a (detergent)composition for dry cleaning that has excellent polymer stability andthus allows dry cleaning in a non-closed-type styler.

The object of the present invention is not limited to those describedabove and other objects not described herein will be clearly understoodby those skilled in the art from the following description.

Technical Solution

In accordance with the present invention, the above and other objectscan be accomplished by the provision of a detergent composition for drycleaning including a) 5 to 10% by weight of a fluorinated (fluoro-based)solvent, b) 1 to 2% by weight of a cleaning booster, c) 5 to 10% byweight of an anti-shrinkage agent, d) 40 to 50% by weight of awater-soluble solvent, and e) 30 to 40% by weight of water. The a)fluorinated solvent may include at least one selected from the groupconsisting of fluorine-based solvents represented by the followingFormula 1 and may be used alone or in combination. The fluorine-basedsolvent has excellent solubilization ability to accommodate water due tothe amphipathicity thereof and thus is easily used in combination withwater and a surfactant. In addition, the fluorinated solvent is used inan amount of 10% by weight or less in order to ensure stability.R—(CH₂)_(m)(CH₂)_(n)—R  [Formula 1]

Wherein m is an integer of 0 to 4, n is an integer of 1 to 5, and R is Hor F, or CH3, CH3O or CF3.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a composition effective for maximizing the cleaning power andmaintaining the shape of laundry after washing by using a cleaningbooster, an anti-shrinkage agent, a softening agent and an anti-wrinkleagent.

The details of other embodiments are incorporated in the detaileddescription and drawings.

Advantageous Effects

The detergent composition for dry cleaning according to the presentinvention contains water, a fluorinated solvent, a water-solublesolvent, a cleaning booster and an anti-shrinkage agent as active(effective) ingredients, thus simultaneously exhibiting excellenteffects for removing oily and aqueous contaminants, being safe to humansand the environment and being non-inflammable.

Also, the detergent composition according to the present invention is aproduct using a fluorinated solvent having excellent polymer safety, issuitable for use as a laundry detergent because it enables easy dryingunder ordinary washing conditions and is very suitable as a laundrydetergent in terms of various physical properties.

The effects of the present invention are not limited to those describedabove and other effects not described herein will be clearly understoodby those skilled in the art from the description in the claims.

BEST MODE

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention and physicalproperties of respective components will be described in detail and thisdetailed description is provided only in order for those skilled in theart to easily implement the present invention and should not beconstrued as limiting the scope and technical concept of the presentinvention.

The detergent composition for dry cleaning according to the presentinvention includes: a) 5 to 10% by weight of a fluorinated(fluoro-based) solvent; b) 1 to 2% by weight of a cleaning booster; c) 5to 10% by weight of an anti-shrinkage agent; d) 40 to 50% by weight of awater-soluble solvent; and e) 30 to 40% by weight of water.

The ingredients of the composition will be described in detail asfollows.

a) Fluorinated (Fluoro-Based) Solvent

The fluorinated solvent according to the present embodiment hasexcellent cleaning ability against oily contaminants and is relativelyexcellent in affinity with water in the composition, so that it can beused in combination with water. The fluorinated solvent of the presentinvention is excellent in solubilizing ability to accommodate water dueto excellent amphiphilicity, so that it can be easily used incombination with water and a surfactant.

When used alone, the fluorinated solvent can provide optimal effects interms of drying speed, cleaning performance and plastic stability.However, since the fluorinated solvents is non-miscible with waterconducting other functions, the phase may become turbid or layerseparation may occur when used in an amount exceeding 10%, and thus theeffects described above cannot be obtained. Also, when the fluorinatedsolvent is used in an amount of less than 5%, the cleaning rate cannotexhibit adequate cleaning performance. Thus, the use of 5 to 10% byweight of the detergent composition for dry cleaning according to thepresent embodiment can achieve an optimum effect in terms of dryingspeed, cleaning performance and plastic stability.

The fluorinated solvent according to the present embodiment may be atleast one selected from the group represented by the following Formula1, or a combination thereof.R—(CH₂)_(m)(CF₂)_(n)—R  [Formula 1]

Wherein m is an integer of 0 to 4, n is an integer of 1 to 5, and R is Hor F, or CH3, CH3O or CF3. The fluorinated solvent according to thepresent embodiment may be selected from the group consisting ofperfluoroheptane (PFH), pentafluorobutane (PFB), decafluoropentane(DFP), methoxy nonafluorobutane (MNF) or a mixture thereof.

b) Cleaning Booster

The detergent composition for dry cleaning of the present embodimentincludes a cleaning booster which may be selected from the groupconsisting of a compound represented by the following Formula 2, acompound represented by the following Formula 3 and a compoundrepresented by the following Formula 4:C₆H₅—CH₂O—(CH₂CH₂O)_(m)—R₁  [Formula 2]R₂—O—(CH₂CH₂O)_(m)—R₁  [Formula 3]R₁—R₃—R₂  [Formula 4]

Wherein m is an integer of 1 to 5, R1 is H or alkyl having 1 to 4 carbonatoms, R2 is alkyl having 1 to 8 carbon atoms, and R3 is alkyl or alkenehaving 3 to 20 carbon atoms. The cleaning booster according to thepresent embodiment may be isoalkane (C10-C13 isoalkanes, IP), propyleneglycol monomethyl ether (PM), or a mixture thereof.

When the cleaning booster is used in combination with a fluorinatedsolvent, in particular, in an amount of less than 1%, the cleaningperformance may be significantly lowered. In addition, when the cleaningbooster is used in an amount of higher than 2%, problems associated withplastic stability may occur. Thus, the plastic may crack or break uponuse for a long time.

c) Anti-Shrinkage Agent

The detergent composition for dry cleaning according to the presentembodiment includes an anti-shrinkage agent. The anti-shrinkage agentaccording to the present embodiment may include at least one selectedfrom the group consisting of propylene glycol (PG), hexylene glycol(HG), ethylene glycol (EG), butylene glycol (BG),3-methoxy-3-methyl-1-butanol (3-MMB) and a combination thereof.

In the case where the anti-shrinkage agent is used in combination with afluorinated solvent, when it is used in an amount of less than 5%, theclothes may shrink and, when it is used in an amount of higher than 10%,the drying speed of the clothes may be reduced and efficiency may bedeteriorated.

d) Water-Soluble Solvent

The detergent composition for dry cleaning according to the presentembodiment includes a water-soluble solvent. By using the water-solublesolvent, the viscosity can be maintained over a long period of time, theavailability (usability) is not deteriorated and the deodorizing effectis further maintained.

The water-soluble solvent is a medicinal agent that is miscible withwater and may include at least one selected from the group consisting ofethanol (EtOH), n-propanol (NPA), iso-propanol (IPA), n-butanol (NBA),n-pentanol (NPA), n-hexanol (NHA) and a combination thereof.

When the water-soluble solvent is used in an amount less than 40%, thefluorinated solvent is not mixed with water and the cleaning performanceusing the fluorinated solvent according to the present embodiment cannotbe obtained. Further, when the water-soluble solvent is used in anamount exceeding 50%, there is the risk of flammability and washingperformance may be lowered.

Examples and Comparative Examples

Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described in detail withreference to the following Examples and Comparative Examples. However,these examples are provided only for illustration and should not beconstrued as limiting the scope of the present invention.

Each dry cleaning agent was prepared in accordance with the compositionsshown in Tables 1 and 2 below. At this time, the dry cleaning agent wasprepared by adding a fluorinated solvent, a water-soluble solvent, acleaning booster and an anti-shrinkage agent to water and stirring atroom temperature until a clear liquid state was obtained.

TABLE 1 Ex- Ex- Exam- Exam- Exam- Ingredient Example 1 Example 2 Example3 Example 4 Example 5 Example 6 Example 7 ample 8 ample 9 ple 10 ple 11ple 12 Fluoro PFH 10 5 5 5 3 solvent PFB 10 5 5 5 3 DEP 10 5 5 5 3 5 MNF10 5 5 5 Cleaning IP 1 1 1 1 1 1 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 booster PM 0.50.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 1 1 1 1 1 1 3-MMB(Anti- 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.58.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 shrinkage agent) Water- NPA — — — — — — 45 45 45 4545 45 soluble IPA 45 45 43 43 43 43 — — — — — — solvent Water BalanceBalance Balance Balance Balance Balance Balance Balance Balance BalanceBalance Balance

TABLE 2 Comparative Comparative Comparative Comparative ComparativeComparative Ingredient Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Example 4 Example 5Example 6 Fluoro solvent PFH 3 15 10 PFB DEP 3 15 15 MNF Cleaningbooster IP 1 0.5 1 1 0.5 1 PM 0.5 1 0.5 0.5 — 0.5 3-MMB(Anti-shrinkageagent) 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 Water-soluble NPA 45 — — 45 — — solventIPA — 45 45 — 45 60 Water Balance Balance Balance Balance BalanceBalance

The phase stability, polymer stability, flammability and cleaning rateof the detergent compositions of Examples 1 to 12 and ComparativeExamples 1 to 6 were evaluated, and the results are shown in Table 3.

TABLE 3 Phase Phase stability stability Polymer stability Cleaning rateItems (50° C.) (−15° C.) HDPE LDPE PP ABS PC Flammability (%) Example 1Good Good ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ nonflammable >95 Example 2 Good Good ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚nonflammable >95 Example 3 Good Good ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ nonflammable >95 Example4 Good Good ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ nonflammable >95 Example 5 Good Good ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚nonflammable >95 Example 6 Good Good ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ nonflammable >95 Example7 Good Good ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ nonflammable >95 Example 8 Good Good ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚nonflammable >95 Example 9 Good Good ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ nonflammable >95 Example10 Good Good ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ nonflammable >95 Example 11 Good Good ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚nonflammable >95 Example 12 Good Good ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ nonflammable >95 Example13 Good Good ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ nonflammable >95 Example 14 Good Good ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚nonflammable >95 Example 15 Good Good ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ nonflammable >95 Example16 Good Good ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ nonflammable >95 Comparative Example 1 Good Good⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ nonflammable <50 Comparative Example 2 Good Good ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚nonflammable <60 Comparative Example 3 Poor Poor ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ X Δ nonflammable— Comparative Example 4 Poor Poor ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ Δ ◯ nonflammable — ComparativeExample 5 Good Good ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ nonflammable <60 Comparative Example 6Good Good ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ ⊚ flammable <60

The phase stability in Table 3 was evaluated by visually observing phaseseparation of the detergent stock solution after allowing the detergentstock solution to stand in an oven at 50° C. for one week. After oneweek, when the phase of the detergent stock solution is suspended andseparated, it is recorded as “defective”, or when the phase of thedetergent solution is normal, it is recorded as “good”.

The polymer stability in Table 3 was evaluated by allowing various typesof polymers, specifically, high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-densitypolyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene(ABS) and polycarbonate (PC) to stand in respective detergentcompositions for 3 weeks, and then measuring the change of the polymersurface and the change of the weight of the polymer. At this time, thechange of the surface state of the polymer such as cracks on the polymersurface and the weight change by elution of the polymer component mayoccur. In this case, evaluation was conducted depending on thedeformation degree of polymers, as shown in Table 4.

TABLE 4 Polymer stability ⊚: No polymer surface change, no weightreduction, very good ◯: No polymer surface change, weight variation of5% or less, good Δ: No polymer surface change, weight variation of 20%or less, slight poor Δ: Polymer cracks, poor

The cleaning rate in Table 3 is measured using a colorimeter compared tothe case of washing using a washing machine, and the symbol “<” meansindication by a maximum measured value.

As can be seen from the above results, when the fluorinated solvent isused in an amount of 5 to 10% by weight, the same effect can beobtained, despite using, as the fluorine solvent, perfluoroheptane(PFH), pentafluorobutane (PFB), decafluoropentane (DFP), methoxynonafluorobutane (MNF) or a combination thereof.

In the case of the cleaning booster as well, the same effect can beobtained, despite using isoalkane (C10-C13 isoalkanes, IP) and propyleneglycol monomethyl ether (PM), in a certain amount varied within 1 to 2%by weight.

In the case of the water-soluble solvent, the same effect can beobtained despite using propanol (NPA) and isopropanol (IPA) in the rangeof 40 to 50% by weight.

As can be seen from Examples 1 to 16 of Table 1, the detergentcomposition for dry cleaning of the present invention, which is preparedby adding water, a fluorinated solvent, a water-soluble solvent, acleaning booster and an anti-shrinkage agent, can effectively removeoily and aqueous contaminants on the fabric surface and secure stabilityand (safety) to various kinds of polymers.

As can be seen from Comparative Examples that do not fall within therange of values according to the present embodiment, as in ComparativeExamples 1 and 2, when the fluorine-based solvent is used in an amountof less than 5% by weight, the cleaning rate was significantly low,compared to Examples, and as in Comparative Examples 3 and 4, when thefluorine-based solvent is used in an amount of higher than 10% byweight, there are problems of poor phase stability or polymer stability,compared to Examples.

In addition, as in Comparative Example 5, when the cleaning booster isused in an amount of less than 1% by weight, the cleaning rate isconsiderably low, compared to Examples and as in Comparative Example 6,when the water-soluble solvent is used in an amount of higher than 50%by weight, there are problems of low cleaning rate and inflammability.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A detergent composition for dry cleaning comprising: a) 5 to 10% by weight of a fluorinated (fluoro-based) solvent; b) 1 to 2% by weight of a cleaning booster; c) 5 to 10% by weight of an anti-shrinkage agent; d) 40 to 50% by weight of a water-soluble solvent; and e) 30 to 40% by weight of water, wherein the a) fluorinated solvent comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of the following Formula 1 and a combination thereof: R—(CH₂)_(m)(CF₂)_(n)—R  [Formula 1] where m is an integer of 0 to 4, n is an integer of 1 to 5, and R is H or F, or CH₃, CH₃O or CF₃, wherein the b) cleaning booster comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of a compound represented by the following Formula 2, a compound represented by the following Formula 3 and a compound represented by the following Formula 4: C₆H₅—CH₂O—(CH₂CH₂O)_(m)—R₁  [Formula 2] R₂—O—(CH₂CH₂O)_(m)—R₁  [Formula 3] R₁—R₃—R₂  [Formula 4] where m is an integer of 1 to 5, R₁ is H or alkyl having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, R₂ is alkyl having 1 to 8 carbon atoms, and R₃ is alkyl or alkene group having 3 to 20 carbon atoms, and wherein the d) water-soluble solvent comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of ethanol (EtOH), n-propanol (NPA), isopropanol (IPA), n-butanol (NBA), n-pentanol (NPA), n-hexanol (NHA) and a combination thereof.
 2. The detergent composition for dry cleaning according to claim 1, wherein the c) anti-shrinkage agent comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of propylene glycol (PG), hexylene glycol (HG), ethylene glycol (EG), butylene glycol (BG), 3-methoxy-3-methyl-1-butanol (3-MMB) and a combination thereof. 